This BTS Pic of Messi the Dog Made My Day

Everyone loves Messi the dog, and now we get to see this hardworking thespian at work behind the scenes!

Messi, for the uninitiated, is the border collie who plays Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall. The film tells the story of Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), who’s accused of murder after her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) mysteriously falls to his death out of their attic window. While Sandra goes on trial and her son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) endures the trauma of his father’s death and the ensuing legal battle, Snoop goes through various ordeals of his own.

This year, Anatomy of a Fall was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning Best Original Screenplay. However, although many involved with the film were in attendance at the Oscars, it was initially reported that Messi himself would not make an appearance at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, CA on March 10.

But Messi surprised us! When the ceremony started, Messi was seated in the audience. At least, he appeared to be.

Messi fans were thrilled to see the canine actor at the show, and Messi didn’t disappoint, offering various jokes throughout the night. At one point, Messi appeared to pee on Matt Damon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as part of a long-running feud between Damon and Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel.

At another point, Messi applauded from his seat in the audience, seemingly clapping his front paws together.

Now, in a small slice of Hollywood magic, audiences can see exactly how Messi accomplished that feat.

So that’s how it was done! A guy lay underneath Messi’s seat and knocked two fake dog paws together! And here I thought Messi had learned how to contort his paws all the way around to clap them like human hands.

It’s always fun to see how practical effects are done, even when they’re just in service of a quick joke at an awards show. But here’s another interesting detail: if you look closely at the seats around Messi, you’ll see that most of them are empty. It turns out that Messi’s bits were pre-recorded before the live show.

Still, Messi’s hard work for the Oscars is yet one more reason to love him. I can’t wait to see what project he’ll book next.

(featured image: Amanda Edwards, Getty Images)